[[quoteright:354:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beyondfantasy1_3631.jpg]][[caption-width-right:354: That's the only cover on the whole series not by Wen Yu-Li]]

->''In those times the World had another name. But everyone who knew it is gone.''

''Anima: Beyond Fantasy'' is a RolePlayingGame first published in UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} in 2005. It's a fantasy game of SwordAndSorcery with strong {{anime}} influences. It's more rules-crunchy than rules-light, with emphasis in chi-abilities, magic, psychic powers and the like. It has been translated to English and French, the English version published by FantasyFlightGames.

The intended setting for the game is Gaïa, who might, or might not, be a distant future Earth after a planetary scope ApocalypseHow caused by a RealityBreakingParadox event. Its tone hovers between {{Seinen}} and Dark {{Shoujo}} Fantasy. Most of the art in the handbooks and signature characters are by [[http://wen-m.deviantart.com/ Wen Yu-Li]], giving it a very distinctive and gorgeous look.

Set in the same world are the miniatures game (''Anima Tactics''), a (non-collectable) card game, and two video-games: ''Anima: Ark of Sinners'' and ''Anima: Gate of Memories''.

Character Sheet for relevant NPC's in the Setting [[Characters/AnimaBeyondFantasy here]]. A constant WIP.----The game mechanics are heaviliy influenced by the old {{Rolemaster}} system by ICE, including the bulk of character classes being mostly a mix of basic ones (as in, Warrior meets Mentalist), or specialized versions of the same role (like Thief/Spy/Assassin). Character attributes may be rolled (on a D10) or bought with a [[PointBuildSystem point allotment]]. Character classes are pretty much just skill cost templates, and much customization can be done (although maybe not [[MinMaxing smart]]); still, nothing prevents your vanilla Warrior guy (known as Weapon Master) from getting a few Psychic powers, if you feel like it. The game uses mostly D100 rolls for checks, except for the odd D10 roll where Character attributes are involved.

Skill ranks, secondary attributes (like HitPoints) and special combat tricks like Martial Arts or fighting techniques are bought with Development Points, ''D.P.''s for short. Special advantages and training are bought with Background points. In fact, being a psychic or spellcaster is NOT a part of the class choice, but one of these advantages.

The system is level-based, with a possible "Apprentice level 0" and a (soft) level cap of 20. Levels add some inherent bonuses to skills and characteristics coming from the class, but mostly they give you extra ''D.P.''s to spend.

Supernatural powers all have their particular mechanics:

* '''KiAttacks''' are of the flashy, super-powered variety and come with a do-it-yourself rules that let players create their own techniques from scratch. Very flexible although slightly cumbersome, it gets expanded and streamlined in one of the {{Sourcebook}}s.* The '''[[BlackAndWhiteMagic Magic system]]''' shows some of the {{Rolemaster}} roots, with Spell Points (called Zeon here) expenditures used to cast spells bought as a "list" with a common theme.* Sharing the Zeon AppliedPhlebotinum but nothing else are the '''[[SummonMagic Arcana Summoning]]''' rules, that evoke strongly Franchise/FinalFantasy signature summonings; unlike previous powers, summoning is handled by a set of special skills that must be developed independently for Summoning, Binding, and Banishing. * '''PsychicPowers''' are sort of the Jack-of-All-Trades of the Supernatural powers, lacking some of the raw power of the rest but not as resource dependent, and behaving more like a kind of skill than the other "pay for effect" powers without the "roll for everything" of Summoning.* Last of the Supernatural powers is '''Elan''', that indicates whether a character is "synchronized" to one of the game's deities. Anima lacks traditional "clerics": divine powers come from following principles sponsored by the gods, behave like odd skills and advantages rather than like spells, and have nothing to do with organized religions, actually (but that is [[PathOfInspiration another story for another time...]]).

Combat is fairly lethal. Thankfully, the myriad weapon tables used in {{Rolemaster}} are gone, although fast adding and substracting is still a plus. Fights between opponents a couple of levels apart are very uneven affairs; high level characters with supernatural powers can annihilate armies without breaking a sweat. Later {{Sourcebook}}s even feature rules for enviromental damage caused by {{Physical God}}s duking it out and combats where time is stretched by the RuleOfCool.

In spite of this, it is suggested that the game should be played at a "low" power level, severely limiting the availability of Supernatural skills, yet other two power level settings are suggested, and the "high power level" one uses the ''default'' Supernatural mechanics and character creation on the rulebook.

----!''Anima: Beyond Fantasy'' contains examples of the following tropes

* AnAdventurerIsYou* BattleAura: Appears whenever a large amount of Ki is accumulated.** And with Arcana Exxet your wizard can have one too!* BlackAndWhiteMagic: Plenty of Magic school "lists" to choose from.* CharacterCustomization* CharacterLevel* CriticalFailure* CriticalHit* DamageTyping: A few kinds of physical, elemental (classic types and Light/Dark) and mystical damage.* DemiHuman: Save for [[OurElvesAreDifferent Sylvains]], none of the traditional types.* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Literally possible, with the right [[KiAttacks dominion tech]]. * EpicFail: In order to invoke the Arcana "The World, Reversed", a character must have failed at every major undertaking in their life... and then fail the roll to invoke said arcana. * ExperiencePoints* FanService: Too many examples to count.* FantasyCharacterClasses: But the classes say only which areas are easier for you to learn. Nothing stops you from improving others.* GameMaster* GameSystem: ''Anima: Beyond Fantasy'' uses its own system.** Very reminiscent of {{Rolemaster}}, though.* GratuitousSpanish: The English translation of the game retains the use of Spanish demonyms for different nationalities ("Abelense", "Helenio", etc...), and contains a few missed words here and there.** Along the same lines: frustratingly, many lists contained in the books were translated fine, ''but not re-alphabetized from the Spanish'' This makes it difficult to find certain things, especially in ''Those Who Walked Amongst Us''. This is also likely the reason the core book has ''no index.''* HalfHumanHybrid: Sort of. You can play a Nephilim, a member of a DemiHuman species reborn as a human.* ImprobableWeaponUser: The [[ThemeNaming Zodiac-named]] Ars Magna weapon schools from the Ki {{Sourcebook}}. Many are {{Shout Out}}s.* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted--a katana is pretty much the same thing as a long sword, stat-wise. It has a bit less durability, but oddly has a bit more Presence (meaning that while it's more vulnerable to attacks that sunder weapons, it has a higher chance to resist a Zeonic spell that would turn it into a rubber chicken or thereabouts).** If using the rules for making your own artifacts in ''Prometheum Exxet'', a katana's higher Presence gives it a little more room for holding artifact powers, so katanas ''are'' just better, albeit not by a whole lot, so... played straight, but downplayed?* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Aversion. Warriors get very powerful, as do wizards and other classes.** Only Warriors that keep a healthy investment in some kind of Supernatural Power.* PointBuy: Every level you get some points to choose what to improve.* RuleOfCool: The ability "Style", whose main purpose is to exercise it. The rules even describe it as ''pure cinematography''.* SupernaturalMartialArts: Also, FullContactMagic. MagicKnight and KungFuWizard fully supported.* SpecialSnowflakeSyndrome: The sourcebooks for the supernatural powers include new subpowers half for this and half {{Rule of Cool}}.* TarotMotifs: The Arcana in both their pure and reversed forms.

!''Gaïa'', the World Setting, contains examples of the following tropes

* AbsoluteCleavage: A common fashion statement in Gaia apparently, along with CleavageWindow.* ActionGirl: Heaps of these.** DarkActionGirl: ...any of the above that are of "dark" alignment.** LadyOfWar: Those that are part of the Empire tend to be this.*** Kujaku Hime may also count as the above.* AnachronismStew: Some elements of this, with the world itself a Renaissance type atmosphere, there are elements of pop idols, jazz, the blues, and even a popular sport which features a pro level league that would be familiar to our eyes. Some characters are portrayed wearing blue jean style shorts, as done by multiple artists.* AnIcePerson: [[{{Youkai}} Yuki Onna]]* AncientConspiracy: So many... but there is one that is older than ''the current world''. [[spoiler: Imperium]]* {{Animesque}}* ArtificialLimbs: Lorenzo and Alessa from Wissenschaft* ArchnemesisDad: The Immortal [[ImmortalityImmorality Onerios]] to The Black Lion for eating most of his soul and leaving him for dead.* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Yuri Olson, former Imperial General, now head of the Empress' Hand. The Colonel/Wilhelm of Les Jaeger. All of the Arbiters. Matthew Gaul, the former Lord of War.* BabyPlanet: Imperium as well as the other two powers in the shadows used magic to divide the world in three parts: one for the humans, other for the sylvain (light elves), and other for the duk'zarist (dark elves). While the planet itself was not broken apart in three, that magic causes each "sub world" to look spherical and be (almost) self-contained. Overlaps with SmallSecludedWorld.* BadassArmy: The Heaven's Order most certainly qualifies.* {{BFG}}: Cordelia Rosalind's sniper rifle.* {{BFS}}: Several, but Kronen's is noteworthy because it is actually gigantic longsword that belonged to an Oni he slew. Or the Aldebaran Lawgiver that acoording to Prometheum Exxet weights ''250 kilograms''.** Ligori has a [[{{BFS}} Big Freaking]] [[AnAxeToGrind Axe]] that rivals Kronen's sword.* BadassCrew: Any team in Anima Tactics automatically qualifies for this.* BadassNormal: The backstory for Hringham. He was a Norse warrior whose TemporaryLoveInterest died; so he killed himself to challenge the goddess of Death to bring her back. And won. [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath Hilarity ensued]]* TheBerserker: Maximo Ligori is most certainly this.* BigBad: Most games of Anima follow a simialer structure of big bads. First it starts by fighting monsters and/or The Azur Alliance. After that the new big bad becomes the {{Corrupt Church}} Holy Empire of Abel (who almost always start as allies before their true nature is revealed). After your now demigod like characters crush the Empire they soon discover the nature of the Powers in the shadow. With that The Imperium becomes the new and last big bad of the game and the characters usually take them out with the help of the supernatural races from Hell. * BlessedWithSuck: Vayl, who ages as a side-effect of his time stopping powers. He is in his 20's, he looks like he is in his [[YoungerThanTheyLook 60's]]. * BodyguardCrush: A few exist within the setting. ** Kujaku Hime's Bodyguard, [[{{Ninja}} Takanosuke]].** Reist's Bodyguard, [[OurElvesAreDifferent Valis]].* ChurchMilitant: Any Inquisitor in the setting* CrystalDragonJesus: An interesting case in The Church of Abel. While it seems to have a lot of the hallmarks of this trope, it actually has a Christ figure (Abel), and its adherents are called Christians. It's really a bit like a cross between this, FantasticCatholicism, and some AnimeCatholicism mixed in.* CuteBruiser: Erika, a thirteen-year-old girl who wields a [[{{BFS}} Big Freaking]] [[DropTheHammer Hammer]].* CursedWithAwesome: [[RedBaron The Black Lion]], who is effectively immortal since he consumes the souls of anything he kills. Were does the cursed part come in? He must continue to kill to stay alive, or suffer a FateWorseThanDeath* DarkIsNotEvil: several characters of the "Dark" alignment.* EldritchAbomination: The Filisnogos and Omega certainly qualify.** There was a war between the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Sylvain]] and the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Old Ones]].* {{Expy}}: Gaia features a significant number of these, which isn't particularly surprising considering the anime styled setting. Sometimes they're [[{{CaptainErsatz}} even more than that.]] ** The Colonel = [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Mustang]]** Maximo Ligori = [[Franchise/SilentHill Pyramid Head]]** Father Alexias = [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} Father Alexander Anderson]]** Clover = [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Wesker]]** Lilith = [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Ivy Valentine]] ** Lucanor Giovanni = [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} Ozymandias]], as mentioned earlier** Lorenzo = [[Anime/CowboyBebop Jet Black]]** Alicia/Tiffeni = [[VideoGame/SoulCalibur Cassandra/Sophitia]].** The Machine = [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Borg.]]** Lazarus = [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth.]]*** There's also ''a lot'' of ShoutOuts in the game to many other works.* FakingTheDead: [[FourStarBadass Yuri Olsen]] was forced to do this in order to lead the Empress's Hand in secrecy. * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Vikings, 16th century Spain, 18th Century France and Italy, {{Scotireland}}, {{Ruritania}} and of course FarEast, {{Qurac}} and African/Egyptian flavours too. And there is the fallen AncientGrome empire, too* FashionableAsymmetry: A few, but Kujaku Hime is probably the worse offender.* FeatherMotif: On not few of Wen's images. Justified on those people who work for the Church of Abel (ie: the angel-like High Saint Elienai)* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: The Maiden of Light and Lord of Darkness respectively.* FemmeFatale: This is the entire schtick of the Sisters of Selene, an all-female group of master assassins who combine extreme beauty with very well-developed supernatural powers (and no small skill with their [[KnifeNut signature stilettos]]) to pretty much be ''the'' best {{Professional Killer}}s in Gaïa.* FinalBoss: Filisnogos all the way, not only is it a SealedEvilInACan but it's also the strongest monster in the core book and it makes a perfect endgame fight. It tends to come into play because of revenge seeking enemies, usually the defeated members of Jurgand or The Empire after every enemy has been defeated by your characters.* FiveRaces: Now most of them are supposedly extinct.** Stout: The Jayan. Three-eyed giants, somewhat averse to magic.** Fairy: Sylvains, OurElvesAreDifferent.** Mundane: Humans. [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] default if they're not [[HalfHumanHybrid Nephilim]].** High Men: Duk'zharist, OurElvesAreBetter. Used to be dark and driven, but of the DarkIsNotEvil variety.** Cute: Daimah, the PettingZooPeople.* GambitPileup: Is going to happen. Possibly underway already.* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: Arguably inverted with the Azur Alliance and the Empire of Abel.* {{Homage}}: The city of Terrasanta might be renamed to [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Raccoon City]] in the future...* {{Magitek}}: Very prominent in the setting, particularly any [[LostTechnology Lost Loggia]] or Wissenschaft equipment.* TheMasquerade: ''Several'' Masquerades going on, but the most prominent is the one held by [[spoiler: Samael, the loose network of supernatural creatures and supposedly extinct races who banded together for protection.]]* MsFanservice: Celia, who has the most artwork of any single named character in Anima.** Who is now going to be the star of the very first Anima video game.* TheNecrocracy: Hinghram is called King of Unlife for a reason, he runs a Type II but seen as Type I [[TheMasquerade for those who know he's real]]* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Deadmoon and the rest of her crew are Pirate Ninjas, Deadmoon herself is a Pirate Ninja Warlock.** The Machine are Psychic Cyborg Hive Minds* OneWingedAngel: Omega.** Also Lazarus.* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The seven Beryls, each one of them named after an archangel of the Christianism of the setting. All of them but one (Uriel) have adopted female gender.* PathOfInspiration: [[spoiler: The Church of Abel was purposedly modeled after Christianism. Old Testament version.]]* PimpedOutDress: Cordelia Rosalind. ** Elisabetta Barbados court dress ([[http://wen-m.deviantart.com/art/Anima-Queen-Elisabetta-46260162 see the Gaïa sourcebook cover]]) fits too, falling also under ImpossiblyLowNeckline.** Fallen Angel Dinah. As for the former, ImpossiblyLowNeckline applies as well.** Also, in some cases the stuff you gain for belonging to the high class (Nobility/High Nobility) includes lots of this. Even an UnlimitedWardrobe if you're a high noble from Gabriel.** Spell ''Wardrobe'' (in Arcana Exxet). On its most basic form, you get an exquisite dress inmune to damages (to it, but not to the wearer). At higher levels it gives you point to Style (see below), the clothes change to adapt to the situation or the moment, and even serve as armor -UnlimitedWardrobe too, in other words.-* RapunzelHair: A lot of (mostly female) characters beginning with Elisabetta Barbados.* {{Shinigami}}: Shinigami Ayl and others of her kind.* ShoutOut: Several, but [[LargeHam Hiro]] is the living embodiment of every {{Sentai}} Show ever.** Before its fall, the AncientGrome Empire based his might on the {{Magitek}} and LostTechnology stored in 30 pieces of black metal, collectively known as [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha the Lost Logia]]** Among the Zodiac Weapon users, some can [[Anime/NinjaScroll throw two-handed weapons as boomerangs]], some use [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII gunsabers]], others [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} hide dozens of weapons-on-chains in their sleeves]] and others use {{Whip Sword}}s.** Claire Adelheid, or [[Anime/HeidiGirlOfTheAlps Klara Heidi]]** Lucanor Giovanni's SuperSoldiers [[Series/{{Lexx}} run on a special kind of blood they need to keep on living]].* TheStoic: Several** [[SuperSoldier XII ]] of Wissenschaft** Kisidan, who is revealed to be NotSoStoic when Elissabetta was about to be killed by her father.* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Takanosuke's has this** Donoban van Horsman may have this as well, if he turns out to be [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lazarus.]]* TheUnfettered: Lucanor Giovanni.* WeCanRebuildHim: Multiple people, specifically: Arkeid, Kyler, Feng Yi, Alessa, Lorenzo and Hiro.* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[AntiVillain Rah Sith]] and Eljared.** Possibly Lucanor Giovanni* WorldOfBadass* WorldsStrongestMan: Hard to say for sure, but [[PhysicalGod Nemesis]] is the most likely candidate.----